Dafin Harshe Part 1 Complete Hausa Novel

I cried for a long time until I became exhausted. By myself, I stood up and wiped my tears. I wanted to perform ablution and pray, but I didn’t even know where to begin. I needed to go to the bathroom first to clean myself before praying.
Seeing that staying there would only delay me until nightfall, I stood up and stepped outside. The compound was full of people—men and women—everyone busy with their own activities. From the women to the men, there was no proper or decent dressing. Most of the women wore only wrappers tied around their chests, while the men wore shorts that stopped at their knees. The more modest ones added singlets.
I stood at the doorway for over five minutes, unable to move forward or go back, just watching everyone around me.
“Madam, what’s wrong? You’ve been standing there staring at us. Should I assume everything is okay?”
The voice came harshly, almost like I was about to be beaten. I quickly turned to see who spoke. It was a young woman, standing with her hands on her waist, staring at me just as intently as I had been looking at her.
Before I could say anything, she slapped me. I quickly held my cheek—the slap was so hard it brought tears to my eyes.
“Who do you think you are? I’m talking to you and you’re just staring at me instead of answering! Today you must tell me who gave you the audacity to stand here and insult me like this!”
“What did I do to you for you to slap me?” I said, still holding my cheek.
My question seemed to anger her even more. She held her waist before speaking:
“Rubbish! So you don’t even know who you’re talking to? That’s why you’re standing in front of me and talking back? Today I’ll show you the end of your arrogance!”
She grabbed my hijab tightly by the neck until I began to choke. Despite the crowd in the compound, no one came to help me. Everyone focused on their own business.
“What is going on here, Baraka? Do you want to kill her? Leave her, I said!”
Hajiya Babba said this as she came out of her room and pulled Baraka’s hand away from me.
“Baraka, I’ve told you many times I don’t want trouble in this house. There is no one I tolerate complaints about except you—and that won’t make me keep enduring headaches. Now, without delay, go and pack everything that belongs to you and leave this house. We didn’t build this house together.”
Immediately, Baraka began to tremble and fell to the ground, begging:
“Please, for the sake of Allah, Hajiya, cover my shame. Don’t let me be disgraced before my enemies. You know how people are waiting for something like this to happen so they can mock me. Hajiya, please have mercy—this is the first and last time.”
In anger, Hajiya replied: “You know me, Baraka. I don’t forgive, and I don’t go back on my word. Go and pack your things and leave this house. I already have people interested in your room, and I’ve even collected a deposit.”
She ended there and turned to me.
“And you, what do you want?”
I lowered my head and said: “I want to use the bathroom, and I also want to perform ablution.”
She pointed at me with her finger and said: “I’m only helping you because you’re a stranger and Aminu brought you—so you’ll benefit from his goodwill. I’ll give you water, a kettle, and a mat to sleep on. But understand this clearly: in this house, everything is for sale. Everything you see or need, you will provide for yourself—even the water you use to wash your eyes. Do you understand me?”
Shaking, I replied: “Yes, I understand. Thank you very much.”
She didn’t respond. She went into her room and shortly came out with a mat, a new kettle, and three sachets of pure water. I collected them and knelt down to thank her.
She ignored me and went back into her room after warning Baraka not to still be in the compound when she came out again.